Authorities say 56-year-old Julia Ball was flown to a Boston hospital with burns on 75 to 80 percent of her body after firefighters found her outside her burning home on Sunday.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) _ Investigators say the Portland woman who received life-threatening burns during a fire at her home suffered her injuries trying to extinguish the blaze herself.

An investigator with the state Fire Marshal's office says 56-year-old Julia Ball was flown to a Boston hospital with burns on 75 to 80 percent of her body after firefighters found her outside the burning home on Sunday.

Sgt. Joel Davis tells The Portland Press Herald the fire may have been caused by smoking materials that ignited a living room couch.

He says Ball may have fallen asleep while smoking or left the room. Investigators have not been able to interview her.

He says extinguishers at the house had not been discharged and investigators do not know how Ball tried to douse the fire.